These are the Days of Our Lives
by Molly1
Summary: A Prequel to The Forgotten Past. The story of a young Jareth's unexpected rise to Goblin King.
1. Chapter One

  
  
'These Are the Days of Our Lives'  
  
Chapter One  
* * * * * * * *  
Sometimes I get to feelin'  
I was back in the old days-long ago.  
When we were kids,   
When we were young  
Things seemed so perfect-you know?  
* * * * * * * *  
  
There were days, many as a matter of fact, when life felt as if it was all a constant  
struggle. To continue would be only torture, and to end it all, that would be the sublime  
ecstasy that he had searched out for so long. However, to end one's existence was far  
easier to think about, to allow the mind to dwell on the possibilities, than actually bring the  
final stroke of that shimmering dagger.  
  
Nonetheless, when days seemed so endless, and he was bothered by constant  
problems and calls that drifted through the open windows and into the castle, he could  
almost make himself pick up his dagger and shed this destructive existence.   
  
Jareth glanced at the knife beside him, resting mockingly only inches from his  
hand. Yet, it knew as well as the king himself, that there would be no bloodshed, at least  
not his. Firstly, as far as Jareth knew, he was immortal, and so a simple dagger would not  
kill him, nor would many other normally fatal things.   
  
"What did I believe I could do, becoming king, tossing Cyria aside as if she were  
useless?" Jareth questioned himself.  
  
At the mere mention of the vile queen's name he shivered with an anger that still  
raged within his entire being. Jareth's soul was blackened from the never-dying hate,  
which burned as a wildfire, eating the remains of his humanity. Soon Jareth would be little  
more than Cyria, cold and cruel.  
  
At that time, on that day, and staring at the glint of the silver blade so very near to  
his hand, Jareth felt nothing of his future emotionless years, but rather found himself so  
lost in a position better suited for one of more experience. He was barely past his twenty  
second year, and already was expected to govern the land as Cyria had.   
  
A crowd of goblins that had been chasing a scroungy feline about the throne room,  
stopped at the sound of a gentle female voice ringing through the entire castle. Their ugly  
faces nearly beamed with happiness at the thought of the fun and games to come. It  
always grew joyful in the castle, when a baby was about. It would mean that the king  
would be occupied, and most would be safe from his vicious temper.  
  
Jareth himself glanced out towards the warm Underground day, as if watching the  
tender, youthful voice riding the wind currents through the sky. He knew very well what  
the voice asked of him, and also understood that there was no denying such a call as this.   
It was written in ancient Underground law, something he had only just learned about, and  
could not be broken no matter what the circumstances.  
  
With a great sigh, he rose with fluid grace from the throne he had since then  
lounged upon. Jareth stretched, his immaculately white poet's shirt flowing about him as  
it caught a breeze drifting in from the near-by window. The attire was all fine and well for  
remaining in the castle, but there was much to do with the girl who had wished her sibling  
away. So, the clothing would have to change before he took flight to the mortal world.  
  
Jareth produced a crystal, something he had learned quickly when Cyria had first  
taken him in. The magical orb had seemed so amazing the first few times, but quickly lost  
their awe-striking quality when he had been forced to conjure thousands just to do the  
most menial tricks. Surely all this was quite pointless, but it had been the way he was  
taught, and Jareth doubted very much if there were any other sorceresses around who  
cared to inform the great Goblin King of a more practical way to perform magic.  
  
With a flash of brilliant white light that erupted throughout the entire room the  
crystal exploded. A fine spray of crushed gems, sparkling like mad in the filtering rays of  
sunlight that fought their way through the magical mist, cascaded down to the floor, and  
immediately disappeared to nothingness the next moment.   
  
"What a mistake you have made little girl," Jareth stated, smiling slyly as he  
glanced at his reflection in the mirror.  
  
His entire figure spoke of royalty and nothing more. Even his features, so very  
handsome, and also wild beyond explanation, struck a noble appearance. He threw his  
black leather cape over his shoulders and spun about; ready to venture to the human realm  
and claim the baby that was now rightfully his. A smirk covered his thin lips as he strode  
quickly over to the window in order to take flight.  
  
With a resounding snap of his leather cape, he broke from the castle's stone floor.   
Jareth's body morphed, molding in the snowy white form of the owl, which bore him  
upwards and into the brilliant morning sky.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
Ah, when it was over and done, and he sat again in the throne, a new goblin his  
only prize for conquering the feeble-minded girl, that was when the wandering of his  
thoughts resumed. Jareth would gaze into the filtering light of day, as it broke from the  
night cover, and remember how the sunrise and sunset had once been... how it had once  
affected him so many years ago.  
  
Those were the times when he felt most alone, and he wished only for human  
companionship among the hordes of ugly cretins that crawled the dirty ground. Jareth  
knew better than to venture to villages in his reign, for the utter fear that all had held  
concerning the Goblin Queen, had just as quickly transferred as Jareth became ruler. He  
would only create uneasiness, should he tour the countryside.  
  
It was in that frame of mind when he also allowed himself to reminisce, to recall  
just how events came about to lead him to this place, the old castle with useless followers  
making a mess of everything, no matter how he struggled to keep order. He had been  
used, had been tricked, and had had his youthful heart ripped from his chest and  
completely crushed upon the cold, craggy rocks of reality.  
  
But in his mind, and in his dreams, he could return to his love... his one true love.   
It was true also that Jareth could have any woman he so pleased, mortal or otherwise, but  
found none to his liking. Mortals lacked the interest of the regal inhabitants of  
neighboring kingdoms, while those aforementioned nobilities were shallow and petty. He  
was lost in a web of entangled rules, regulations, and found himself helpless to do anything  
but find solace in fantasies.  
  
"Shayna," he whispered the name of his beloved, the single woman to who he had  
offered his heart....  
  
... And she had died. At the hands of the jealous Goblin Queen. Shayna had been  
brutally forced into her suicide, precluding the destruction of Jareth's entire village by only  
a few scarce minutes. His rise to power and dismay had been signaled by the death of  
hundreds.  
  
But even with the souls of all those who had fallen due to his thoughtless actions,  
Jareth could not dwell on the sorrow. He felt, instead, his wandering mind slowly slip into  
waters of sweetest nectar, those that reflected the image of his once love... his most  
beautiful lady, his Shayna.  
  
The goblins stopped momentarily as they looked, their dulled eyes brightening only  
slightly, at their King's far away gaze. All activity, and chaotic movements ceased, and a  
silence of serenity ensued with the daydreams of Jareth's. In that heartbeat's of a moment  
it seemed that the past could return.  
  
Then the noise began, and the reality replaced that feeling of perfection and utter  
magic. Those lost remained so, and those hurt stayed that way as well. It was only in  
Jareth's mind, as vivid images began to unfold that he was young and happy again, and his  
community thrived, and Shayna, his lovely Shayna, still lived...  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
The music crescendoed as the dancers beneath the brightly lit lanterns increased  
the momentum of the dance. Their feet moved in frenzy, and strangely enough, none  
collided as they dashed about, seemingly in a chaotic stupor. However, in some disjointed  
way, they were in unison, and moved like silken liquids in the pools of colors from the  
illumination overhead.  
  
He watched, separated from the festivities as he always was. The town rejoiced on  
his behalf, in the center square, before the grand manor that he shared with his father,  
mother and baby sister. Despite the joy that was found so evident in the faces of every  
townsperson, Jareth could not share in their elation, not when his life... which he  
considered governed only by himself... had been suddenly taken completely from his  
control.  
  
"Jareth, boy, join the celebration! Many more are here to wish you well with your  
future wife," the gruff, stentorian voice from his father carried across the crowd and  
through the blaring music.  
  
Jareth merely nodded in the vague direction of his father, noting that he heard the  
man very well and only chose to remain of his own accord. There was no fight, for his  
parents could care less about their son, while they were mingling through the social circuit  
of traveling nobles and fellow members of their quaint village.  
  
He sighed deeply and jumped down from his perch atop a section of wall, which  
enclosed his estate entirely, on all sides, save the arched entryway. He landed with the  
grace of a cat, and slowly walked away from the noise, the gaiety, and the entire mob of  
well-wishers altogether. There was no need for his presence.  
  
His blonde locks of hair hung about his face, framing Jareth's noble, aquiline  
features in a halo of strung gold. The contrasting shades of his eyes bore deeply through  
the darkness of the night, as the light from the gathering decreased rapidly. He was a  
nobleman, born and bred, from his stance, to his clothing, and his general atmosphere.   
Still, it seemed that there was some other destiny to be wrought, aside from pre-arranged  
marriages and inheritance of vast estate.  
  
"Jareth!"  
  
"The devil does not sleep well tonight," Jareth whispered to himself as he turned to  
great the oncoming shape of a young woman.  
  
He smiled benevolently enough, and bowed with a grand arc of his arm. He  
remained that way for a brief moment and rose, his eyes flashing with the rainbow hues of  
the lanterns not far in the distance, down the dirt path. His gaze was met by stunning  
red-head, who would be quite the catch, had she had a shred of personality.  
  
He offered her his arm, which she took with a smug grin upon her pursed lips. She  
continued with him, silent, but brooding over the collar of his satin jacket, plucking stray  
pieces of his flowing mane from the navy material. Jareth ignored it, to the best of his  
ability, even as she swept her hand across his chest, smoothing any imperfections from his  
clothing.  
  
"Daddy will be most pleased by how you appear tonight, Jareth," she whispered,  
turning her face up and towards his own.  
  
He looked at her, and noted that her face was slightly too full, her eyes only a trace  
too wide, and her nose scantly too broad. Her comment went unnoticed as he tracked  
down vague reasons supporting his general dislike for his fiancée. Adriana waited  
patiently, but soon realized that an answer to her statement would not come.  
  
"I came to tell you that everyone is asking about you, Jareth. I only care about  
you, about how others think.... about you," she finished, trying to make her dead voice  
appear concerned, something Jareth himself was most certain she would never feel,  
besides for herself.  
  
He stopped walking and gestured back towards the celebration. Adriana did not  
understand the reason for his pausing, and stepped away briefly, her eyes drilling into his,  
almost overpowering in their accusatory appearance.  
  
"Some are not worth saving, my dear. I feel ill, tell them what you will, but I must  
be alone for now," Jareth remarked, and turned without another word to his miffed  
betrothed.  
  
She would have remained there a while, alone on the dirt path, beside the dimmed  
houses, and stables that lined the road. However, before he even began to turn around the  
bend, toward the stables, where he found few hours of solace in the horrid coarse of each  
day, Adriana was heading back to the party, forming explanations for Jareth's departure in  
her mind.   
  
One could not look poorly.  
  
He merely scoffed at such a shallow perspective. There was so much more to life  
than... appearance, reputation, petty regulations concerning status of birth. He could not  
name the countless other instances where the outcome was infinitely more consequential  
than what another might think about some poor actions.   
  
Jareth turned down the darkened path, which lead directly to his stables. He  
would not ride, not in his current frame of mind. His tension would merely serve to  
aggravate his mount. No, instead he came to find his peace among the gentle sounds of  
the equine residents, as they ate their supper, and lay down in fresh bedding.  
  
Yet, fate would not allow the disastrous night to end with such simplicity. Instead  
the flash of whiteness around the corner of the wooden stable caught his eye. Surely it  
was a child, wandering the streets, or youngsters playing a fruitful game of tag while their  
parents spent time boring themselves.  
  
Jareth nearly ignored the sight, but found his curiosity mounting. He rushed past  
the double doors, which led into the stable, and raced around the corner, again only  
receiving a fleeting glance at the pristine white train of some peasant's dress. A sly grin  
touched his arced lips, and mischief flashed in his eyes.   
  
Without hesitation, and though, Jareth raced back the way he had come.   
However, he vaulted easily over the wall surrounding that half of the stable, and raced  
across the green grass that served as pasture for their horses. He turned once more,  
winding his way between houses of lower class members of their village, and at last burst  
into the street.  
  
The white apparition skidded to a halt, but for all her attempts at stopping, she still  
collided with Jareth. He staggered backwards, and soon lost all balance, and fell to the  
ground, the woman toppling atop him. She did not mutter some useless form of apology,  
but rather beat upon his chest, as if Jareth was an attacker, and yelled at the top of her  
lungs.  
  
Jareth clapped his hand over her mouth, still unable to see who was lying upon  
him. However, he could not be found in so compromising a situation with a young lady,  
when his fiancée was only a few minutes from his current place.   
  
"Hush, if you wish not to..." his words were abruptly cut off as her teeth sunk into  
the flesh of his palm.  
  
Jareth recoiled, fast enough to send her slipping entirely to the ground, as he leapt  
to his feet. He gripped his injured hand to his chest, and watched in anger, as the vile  
wench threw back her long, thick mane of hair. Her white dress was no longer so, for  
now it had stained with the dirt of the road.  
  
It was then that his heartbeat leapt into his throat, as their eyes met for the first  
time. It was, perhaps, love at first sight, but neither would so admit it to the other, not  
yet, in fear of what would be said. She was frozen, kneeling on the ground, and Jareth  
remained poised, head cocked, and hand clutched tightly with his other.  
  
She broke the awkwardness of the moment with a single shriek of horrifying  
revelation. The lovely, breathtaking vision of a woman shook her head, tears streaming  
down her perfect cheeks.  
  
"I'm sorry my lord, forgive me, I did not know," she whispered, her voice hitching  
as Jareth managed to approach her.  
  
He said nothing, but rather offered his hand to aid her to her feet. He watched her  
move, with the same grace that he had exhibited earlier. However, in the cloth so very  
white (or what had once been the pristine color) she seemed more like a swan. Each  
movement was perfection crafted into flesh.  
  
"It is I, who should beg forgiveness, my lady. Tell me, I have never met you since  
tonight, so what is your name?" he inquired, their gaze locked upon each other.  
  
She paused for a moment, perhaps realizing what was happening, and the  
repercussions of such a problem as was forming between them. Then, casting aside her  
previous thought, she threw worries to the wind.  
  
"I am Shayna O'Leary, my lord."  
  
* * * * * * * * *  
  
From his mesmerized state in the present, thinking back upon this meeting, the  
Goblin King uttered a single sentence, which, once more, caught the goblins dwindling  
attention.  
  
"And you would have been my wife." 


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two  
* * * * * * * *  
The days were endless,  
We were crazy-we were young  
The sun was always shining-  
We just lived for fun  
Sometimes it feels like lately-I just don't know  
The rest of my life's been-just a show  
* * * * * * * *  
  
"I swear to you Frederick, she is nothing short of a goddess," Jareth stated, his  
eyes taking on the far-away glint that had consumed him so often as of late.  
  
The two young men, same in age and dashing stature, had taken to the forest for a  
ride. Their steeds were coated in lather, after their wild run weaving between the tall  
ancient trees of the Underground forest. Now, lingering among cool shadows, and the  
filtering bits of sunlight, Jareth bestowed his newly acquired infatuation upon his closest  
companion.  
  
Frederick's dark ebony eyes flashed towards his friend, finely sculpted lips held  
slightly agape at the revelation. His luxuriant mane of shining raven hair caught in the  
breeze, drifting freely over his shoulders. The man was nearly as breathtaking as Jareth,  
although his looks were darkly refined, easily distinguished from Jareth's pallor  
appearance.  
  
"The party has only just ended, and already you find a way to make the workings  
of the world chaotic, my dearest Jareth" Frederick replied with a brief, sarcastic bout of  
laughter. His voice was accented in an equally tantalizing way, though was not in the  
same velvety lower range as his friend's.  
  
Jareth joined in the laughter and then urged his horse into a slow, steady jog. He  
glanced over his shoulder towards Frederick and then shrugged, unable to think of a  
reasonable excuse for his actions, and the sudden presence of love.   
  
"I cannot ignore the emotion, Freddie, nor can I accept it. It seems as if I am  
stuck," Jareth mulled over his problem and then turned back about in the saddle.  
  
Freddie jogged up beside his friend once more and then caught Jareth's fading  
attention. There was moment of silence shared between companions, while their thoughts  
were shared without words. Jareth nodded slowly and then smiled, desperation beginning  
to pour forth from his every feature.  
  
"Darling, we simply cannot speak of such things as this now. Perhaps your lovely  
Shayna will be your future, but that is not for us to decide, nor is it for us to discuss. Shall  
we?" Freddie questioned, and jabbed his steed quickly with his heels.  
  
Instantly the lovely Roan which he road upon jolted onwards, powerful legs  
beating in quick rhythm, as the hooves tore across the forest floor. Jareth watched this  
sight for a second, and then urged his own horse onwards. The pale gray raced after the  
fading outline of the first.  
  
He raced around, beneath, and between the ancient trees, which reached far into  
the mid-morning sky. The rhythmic sounds of the horses' pounding hooves were the only  
noise to break the general silence found in the woods. Jareth could easily lose himself  
here, amidst the forest animals, and the shadows lingering upon the dirt floor.  
  
His mind was instantly snapped back into reality as Freddie came to a sliding halt.   
The roan rose upon his hind legs and swiveled around, suddenly becoming quite light upon  
his feet. Jareth reined in his own steed, scarcely missing the spooking horse.  
  
"What got into him?" Jareth asked, coming to stand beside the fidgeting equine.   
His own mount was overly aware of the surroundings, nostrils flaring and ears perked  
straight ahead.  
  
Freddie turned the horse in a tight circle, preventing the animal from rearing again.   
His dark, obsidian eyes met with Jareth's, and the young noble noted a certain trace of  
fear there. Something was not right.  
  
"We shouldn't be here. Shall we away?" Freddie inquired, leaping from his mount  
with lithe grace. Jareth followed suit.  
  
Upon the ground Freddie was noticeably shorter than Jareth. Still, a presence that  
dwelled around the darkly handsome man made him appear larger than life. His sleek  
form was clothed in tight silken riding pants, black in shade. A poet's shirt, much the  
same as Jareth's, but dark in color as well, dipped to the middle of his chest. Jareth  
himself wore a navy, riding jacket over his cream, satin shirt.  
  
"Well, why should we dismount?" Jareth asked, perturbed that they could not go  
forth into the ancient woods, "and why shan't we continue further into the forest? I don't  
believe I've been there before."  
  
Freddie gathered his reins into hand and slowly led the nervous horse away from  
the darkened, mysterious section of the woods. There was a definite change in the  
atmosphere surrounding the forest in that area, by far less comfortable than the woodlands  
nearer to the village.  
  
Freddie once more looked at Jareth, just as a breath of wind caught his raven  
mane, drawing it away from his aquiline features. The same fear was embedded in his  
eyes, even as he glanced over his shoulder towards the distant section of the forest that  
they had left.  
  
"It is the Goblin Queen's forest, Jareth," Freddie stated solemnly and then abruptly  
closed the subject by remounting his horse.  
  
Jareth quickly leapt back atop his steed and jogged up beside Freddie, prepared to  
get more information than had already been offered. This was quite an interesting subject,  
and one he had not heard before.  
  
"Who, pray tell, is the Goblin Queen?" Jareth questioned.  
  
Freddie's gaze snapped back towards his friend. He began to laugh, a musical sort  
of chuckle, before realizing that Jareth was serious about the question. The young noble  
had never heard about the myths and legends surrounding the Goblin Queen.  
  
"Darling, please tell me that... well this is quite the interesting tidbit of  
information," Freddie remarked, raising his eyebrows slightly to insinuate his shock.  
  
Jareth waited, but patience had never been his strong suit. Freddie's lengthy pause  
only proved to aggravate Jareth.  
  
"The Goblin Queen lives in a large castle, amidst those woods. She dwells alone,  
with only her dearest attendants to wait upon her needs. She has quite the nasty temper,  
and any who venture to her castle promptly disappear," Freddie grinned mischievously and  
then leaned back a bit in the saddle, "Now tell me more about your darling girl."  
  
Jareth shook his head, but couldn't help to keep the smile from his face. The mere  
thought of Shayna brightened his entire outlook on life... Save the obvious problem of a  
certain forthcoming marriage, but all could be solved... in time.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
The two friends ducked in unison beneath the arched, brick entrance to their  
simple town. Low, overhanging strands of ivy swept across their heads, and against the  
smooth flesh of their faces'. They were met immediately by a stable hand, taking the reins  
from the young men as they dismounted their steeds.  
  
"Ah, so the young princes have returned from cavorting in the forest, once more,"  
proclaimed a hierarchical voice from down the street only a short distance.  
  
Freddie turned instantly and mocked an overly shocked expression upon his  
handsome face. He bowed, crossing his feet over each other in the process and sweeping  
his hand in a half circle. Jareth erupted into laughter, watching the antics of his friend and  
leant back against the nearest brick wall.  
  
"My dearest master Rupert, we are so well graced by your presence, darling!"  
Freddie chided as he rose and swept back his raven locks over his slender shoulders.  
  
"To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?" Jareth inquired, his own  
changeling eyes simply dancing with the mirth of the moment.  
  
Rupert slowly approached the two... higher class of the town. He was tall, lean  
like Jareth, but did not possess the general seductive appearance as the two he now faced.   
Still, Rupert bore a sadistically maniacal grin upon his thin lips as his brown eyes flashed  
from Freddie's amused face to Jareth's bored expression.  
  
"Jareth, how is that fiancee of yours?" Rupert demanded, clicking his tongue as he  
asked the question.  
  
Jareth started momentarily and pushed himself away from the wall. He placed his  
hands behind himself, in the small of his back, and began stalking, ever so slowly, around  
Rupert. Surely such a show of superiority would cast the self-righteousness in Rupert to  
the stones.  
  
Nonetheless, the commoner remained, his grin overly evident on his pale face. A  
fine sheen of sweat stood out on his brow, and glistened against his neck, making Rupert  
appear almost sickly in the light of the strong afternoon sun. The heat was nearly  
unbearable as they stood apart from the comfortable coolness offered by the shade.  
  
"Prying in business that does not need your presence? What shall we do with  
you?" Jareth asked, his two distinctly different eyes bore into his 'prey' and flashed with  
an innate power.  
  
"Nothing, for all your power and all your mind games you can do nothing! Or  
would the world care to know about a peasant girl whom struck your interest during the  
celebretory event concerning a certain arrangement for your marriage?!" Rupert's laughter  
tore through his words like a knife, ready to slash away Jareth's previous grasp over the  
situation.  
  
Almost without hesitation Freddie was at his friend's side, his eyes narrowed and,  
for one of the few times in his life, he was genuinely angry. Jareth himself had set his jaw,  
and lightening flashed with chestnut highlights behind his darker eye, while the blue  
swirled like unruly, churning waters. Rupert swallowed, and silently drew back the  
statement he had only just put forth into the open.  
  
"You are not wanted here.... dear," Freddie's face remained set, even with the  
feminine addition to the end of his threat. There was no cocking of a grin, no musical  
titter to accompany such a teasing remark. Instead, cold fury rose and dwelled behind his  
serious expression.  
  
Rupert backed down, as if a mongrel dog sensing his dismissal from the pack, and  
leaving before the fight really began. There would be no victory for such a stray. The two  
inseparable "princes", were stronger than any other in the town. The retreating fool nearly  
tripped over his own shoes, and caught himself just in time to avoid complete  
embarrassment. However, the sight of his lack of coordination sent the seriousness fleeing  
from the situation.  
  
"You'll regret this! Both of you!" Rupert threatened, turning about so that he  
might make his retreat in a more timely fashion.  
  
Jareth kicked a rock down the road, after the sight of the humbled boy. He scuffed  
his toe into the dirt, briefly disturbed that others already knew about his little 'secret.'   
  
"Very well, away with you... you naughty thing, you!" Freddie erupted into more  
laughter, covering his mouth after the statement with the palm of one slender hand.  
  
He turned to face Jareth, but was shocked at the worry evident on his friend's face.   
Freddie reached out, tenderly, and grasped Jareth's arms with his hands, forcing the young  
noble to look into his dark eyes. They stood there, in the middle of the road, the  
stablehand silently leading their winded steeds to the barn, to be cooled down.  
  
"I know, that I should not let it get inside so easily, but...," Jareth was silenced  
quickly by a single hand placed over his mouth.  
  
"We shall not consider the 'buts' for now," Frederick removed his hand and then  
stepped back, allowing a sigh to break through his never-ending mirth, "I'm off, dear, take  
care of your...."  
  
Freddie raised his eyebrows with a smug grin, as his sentence broke off. Yet, even  
without a word to complete the thought, Jareth could easily guess as to what was meant.   
Then, spinning about on his toes, Freddie headed down the street, towards his large home  
at the back of town. Jareth himself had but to turn a corner and find his estate, near the  
stables.  
  
He paused for a moment, dwelling on what had occurred in the street. If his  
parents had ever discovered who had caught Jareth's heart without so much as a single  
word.... he shivered as the thought completed itself through visual images in his vivid  
imagination. Then, he walked up the brick stairs, shaking the ideas from his mind firmly.  
  
Jareth opened the large wooden door, which led into his home. His riding boots,  
soiled from the day of enjoyment, were left at the entryway. His mother was not  
accustomed to dirt of any kind, especially within her house.   
  
"Father, Mother?" Jareth inquired as to their where-abouts.  
  
There was no answer, which signalled that he was alone there. Perhaps they had  
gone into the marketplace. Or, the more likely possibility, they had traveled to Adriana's  
comfortable dwellings with her family, to further discuss the plans surrounding their  
engagement and eventual marriage.  
  
"Marriage," Jareth scowled and quickly strode to his chambers, taking the brick  
staircase to the second level of their large home.  
  
The walls were adorned with colorful tapestries, depicting worlds and creatures  
that Jareth had never guessed would exist. It all appeared so fantastic. Some days, when  
life itself seemed to spite him, Jareth would sit in the passage way and gaze at these works  
of art, placing himself into the pictures of serenity and ultimate joy.  
  
Now, however, he had no time for any pointless daydreaming. His days were  
numbered, since he had surpassed his nineteenth year. Twenty would signal his wedding  
day, and his loss of freedom along with it.  
  
"And my broken heart," he whispered, musing over Shayna's flawless face, crafted  
from the purest alabaster flesh.  
  
There was no question in his mind, for he had no choice in the matter. His heart  
had decided what was to be done. He would find a way out of the marriage. Whether  
insanity, death, or loss of all else was the result, he would be with Shayna in some way. A  
life with Adriana was scarcely mediocre when compared to his goddess.  
  
The fact did remain, however, that Shayna had only just offered her name when  
she had risen fluidly to her feet, and had then rushed back into the darkness. He had  
watched her retreat, as if frozen into place, had let her slipped through his fingers with that  
sort of ease! Still, Jareth was determined to find her again, or else his life would be but a  
hollow shell.  
  
Jareth drew open the slightly less imposing door, which led to his chambers and  
allowed it to slam shut behind him. The room was as grand as the home, with a ceiling  
reaching many feet overhead. The bed occupied the center, canopied and oversized so as  
to appear as if it could fit nearly ten people sleeping comfortably.  
  
Yes, his life was cloaked in comfort and carefully placed excess. While his dear  
friend, Frederick adapted quickly to life in the more monetary realm, Jareth himself found  
no need for such trivialities. It had been but fate to place him in this noble home, and the  
same fickle fate that had arranged the marriage to Adriana the day prior to his meeting  
Shayna.  
  
Now it was he would fight fate.... and only time would tell the victor.  
  
  



	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three  
* * * * * * * *  
Those were the days of our lives  
The bad things in life were so few  
Those days are all gone now  
but one thing is true-  
When I look, and I find- I still love you.  
* * * * * * * *  
  
Jareth shook himself from his memoirs of the past. A single echoing drip of water  
was the only sound in the darkness of the castle. Night had fallen some time ago and the  
goblins had... at long last... bedded down for a brief rest before more chaotic, and surely  
brainless, antics ensued the next dawn.  
  
He rose, joints stiffened from sitting so still, in his throne, for many hours. Still, it  
had not felt as long as had actually been. The Goblin King stretched. He looked out the  
near-by window, his powerful eyes scanning the dark ground, the twists and turns of the  
far-reaching maze, and the lands beyond.   
  
It was all his, and still he felt like the young boy who thought about excessive  
monetary objects as trivial. He was still the adolescent who needed no more than the love  
of one woman who had run into him unexpectedly. Surely this pomp and circumstance  
would suit another far better.   
  
"Freddie," Jareth spoke the name that had been silent for so very long.   
  
He had not thought about his dear friend for the length of a year, at least. Perhaps  
the pain that would follow the memories had forced him to keep the thought of his dearest  
companion far away.... so that he would not hurt anymore, would not suffer anymore,  
would not inflict anymore wounds on his already damaged soul.  
  
But now there was no hiding the face that had risen in his mind like a ghost,  
refusing to leave. The times he had had with Freddie were innumerable, and perhaps the  
best moments of his life. Like so many others, Jareth's dear friend had been the victim of  
his rising to Goblin King. Freddie had, most likely, died in the village with everyone else.  
  
It had been a scant three years, not enough time to even begin to heal, since he had  
lost everything, and suddenly gained everything as well. Nonetheless, in that amount of  
time Jareth had forgotten his best friend, and laid to rest his love. As the reminiscing  
ensued, however, he realized just how little had changed.... and just how much he still  
loved Shay with all his heart.  
  
"What did I do?" Jareth asked, momentarily losing his composure as he banged his  
fists against the overwhelmingly massive door, which led to his private chambers in the  
confines of the monstrous castle.  
  
He had made the entire, lengthy walk down the turning and twisting passageway to  
his room, without a single thought as to where he was going. Jareth glanced around, his  
gaze falling upon a solitary sleeping goblin, and then continued on into his chambers.   
Everything he did felt strangely familiar... almost eerily so.  
  
Jareth walked slowly within, the door closing behind him of its own accord. It  
sealed itself in the frame, without a slam resounding throughout the halls. He reached out  
with a single slender hand and grasped the bed post firmly. The Goblin King's knuckles  
blanched out, a brilliant whiteness spreading across his tightly clenched hand.  
  
He hung his noble head, blonde wisps of hair draping over his face, blocking the  
show of emotion from the room... the room which lacked anyone. He was alone, so  
alone, and it was all because of himself. Surely there could have been a way, some way to  
go back and change it all.  
  
"Time waits for nobody... at all," Jareth stated simply and then slowly rose to his  
full height and dragged himself to the balcony, to look down at the now darkened,  
well-kept garden below.  
  
Shay lived there, in those beautiful buds and flowers, in the flowing ivy that draped  
upon the fine trellice, and the seemingly living golden bench (wrought into vine-like  
structures of artwork). She was in every shadow, every burst of light, each flitting  
butterfly and passing bee. The song of the bird, and the cool reflection in the well, was all  
Shayna. It was there that he knew, where Jareth could actually sense that she had not ever  
left, and was still watching over her lover with a careful eye.  
  
"And I will never forget you, my Shayna," he called out into the night. For a  
moment he thought that, perhaps, a light flickered within the garden.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
The greater part of a month had passed without another sight of the awe-striking  
woman, Shayna. Jareth searched, and nearly allowed himself to stoop to the level of  
knocking on doors to merely ask if such a girl dwelled anywhere. However, his rational  
prevented such a course of action. Surely, that would lead to speculations about the  
young noble and his bride-to-be.  
  
Summer had fully overtaken the land, bathing everyone in hot, unrelenting rays.   
Solace was found only in the lake, where cool waters soothed burning flesh from the sun,  
for a few moments of fleeting relaxation. There in sapphire pools, crystallized in the dull  
shade of large oak trees, serenity bred.  
  
Jareth leapt over a rock, then paused and, turning about once more, tackled it. He  
climbed his way to the top as he gazed over the vast expanse of forest floor. Nature was  
such a mesmerizing appearance. It was a present, a gift to behold. He watched the flitting  
insects through the filtering golden traces of light, breaking their way through the thick,  
green canopy of leaves overhead.  
  
"Well?" Frederick inquired, leaning against the sturdy trunk of one of thousands of  
other trees.  
  
Jareth averted his attention and grinned, leaping down with innate grace, so as to  
walk beside his friend. Certainly there had never been two individuals more different than  
them, but still they made the closest of companions.   
  
"Have you never wanted to look at our forest? I take time to enjoy it. Here is  
perfection, Freddie," Jareth stated, gesturing around them with a sweeping movement of  
both hands.  
  
The other said nothing, but merely ducked beneath a low-hanging branch. A  
curtain of foliage draped down from the tree limbs, but had been tied aside with some  
roughly cut twine. Now it no longer hid the private alcove, the solace from summer  
weather.   
  
"That is your mistake, darling, this is perfection!" Freddie stated, a positively evil  
grin upon his handsome face.  
  
Freddie leaned, once again, against the tree, gazing at something in the pool of  
refreshing water. His eyes spoke tales of what it was, and Jareth knew without asking that  
a female was taking time to cool herself in the lovely lake. The noble walked beside his  
friend, brushing the overgrown leaves a bit more to the side so that he might see around  
enough to catch a glimpse at who was enjoying the water.  
  
At once Jareth's heart leapt into his throat and his breathing hitched. He turned,  
coughing slightly at the shock he had sustained from the sight. Freddie turned as well,  
watching his friend now, a curiously questioning look dwelled within those obsidian eyes.  
  
"One mustn't watch nature too much, eh Jareth?" Freddie asked with a light bout  
of laughter and then started towards the pool, where he would certainly frighten the girl to  
death.  
  
Jareth jumped at his friend, catching Frederick's arm tightly. He forced Freddie  
back, away from the lake, and the alluring promise of refreshing water... among other  
things. Jareth placed a single finger to his lips, silencing them both from partaking in any  
form of conversation yet.   
  
"That is her, the one I spoke...."  
  
"Ah, I see now why. Such a lucky devil, always finding those most lovely vixen,"  
Freddie cut in and then turned around to parade out, perhaps shouting welcome to Shayna  
and frightening her away once more.  
  
Again Jareth reigned in his friend, forcing Freddie back into the hidden area,  
behind the curtain of foliage and trees, as well as thick undergrowth. Shayna would not  
know, would not guess, if she had not yet seen them, or heard their silenced discussion.  
  
She did not seem to have left the lake, for there was no sound of quickly rushing  
footsteps as she ran away. Nor did Jareth hear the splashing of water. There was only the  
gentle lap of her hands, as she swam out into the center of the cool lake. The image of  
her, golden hair floating on the surface around her angelic face, brought shivers to his  
body.  
  
"Must you be this way? I have not spoken to her, since... the celebration," Jareth  
conceded, though his words were thick with conviction.  
  
Freddie eyed his friend and then crossed his arms across his chest. The silk of his  
shirt rustled together, creating something of a sweet lullaby allusion. He pursed his lips, in  
thought, debating whether to easily leave or demand reason behind Jareth's most humble  
requests. He finally sighed and turned to return to their town... alone.  
  
"Very well, but we shall not take such treatment lightly in the future, Jareth,"  
Freddie warned, narrowing his ebony eyes to slits in mock anger towards his dear friend.  
  
Jareth nodded in agreement, merely elated to be able to approach the fair Shayna  
alone, without his constantly joking friend at hand. With a deep breath, and struggling to  
keep composure, Jareth strode quickly beneath the curtain of leaves, and into the open,  
where he was met with a startled gasp from the water.  
  
Shayna started with fright. She splashed to the bank, struggling with heavily  
watered-down garments, which clung to the craggy rocks that lined the lake on all sides.   
Before she could have gathered her clothing together, Jareth was at her side, blocking her  
retreat with his own body. She relented and instead covered herself as best she could with  
her damp and dirty dress.  
  
"I have wanted to speak to you for some time," Jareth said gently, daring a step  
nearer to her.   
  
However, she instinctively backed away from his advances. Shayna cast her  
sapphire eyes to the ground, looking at her bare feet, that were now coated in mud. She  
scraped a bit off on the rock, but found that suddenly Jareth had gripped her arm, and his  
warm palm was lighting fires along her icy flesh.  
  
"Please, my lord," Shayna begged, jerking backwards.  
  
She slipped, and nearly fell into the shallow water at the bank. Jareth caught her,  
gathering her body into his arms, so that their heaving chests pressed against each other.   
Nothing, save the wind and their damp clothing separated them in that moment. Jareth  
swallowed, unable to speak, save one sentence that instantly broke into his fogged mind.  
  
"Jareth, not 'my lord', or I will be forced to call you 'my lady,'" Jareth stated  
somberly, his flashing eyes boring deeply into her own widened gaze.  
  
She pushed against him and then backed away once more, running a hand through  
her mass of tangled, soaked locks of hair. She could not look at him, not after being so  
close, too close for comfort. Such positions were what brought scandals upon young  
women, tales that would not be easily shaken away.  
  
"I beg you, let me leave," she whispered, her downcast eyes pooling with  
crystallized tears.  
  
Jareth watched, still silent with an overload of emotions forcing their way  
throughout his system. He had been able to win over any female, with but the stroking  
velvet of his voice, the debonair charm in his mannerisms, and the flashing intensity in his  
eyes. Every aspect of his body spoke 'seduction' and yet Shayna would have none of it,  
which left him at a loss for words.  
  
"I only wish to talk," Jareth begged, reaching out to take her hand in his own.  
  
Shayna recoiled, as if it were a snake that reached for her and not this young noble  
from her town. Jareth did not give up easily. He instead averted his hand and stroked her  
silken cheek with the very tips of his fingers. Shayna shivered, and instantly brought her  
eyes up to meet with Jareth's.  
  
"Talking is not why you keep me here," Shayna relented, knowing very well that  
Jareth was not interested in mere conversation.  
  
Jareth smiled and sat down upon a nearby rock. He gestured for Shayna to follow  
suit, and sit across from him. She glanced warily at the rock, and then placed herself  
delicately upon the slick thing. She folded her clothes on her lap, still clutching some of  
the cornflower blue material over her undergarments, in which she had swam.  
  
"You're right," Jareth agreed, nodding to show her that she had guessed correctly  
at why he wished to speak to her, "I have far more on my mind."  
  
Shayna managed an embarrassed smile, which flitted momentarily across her full  
lips. Her cheeks where highlighted with a red flush, as she quickly averted her gaze from  
Jareth and 'what he had on his mind.'   
  
Jareth reached out, and quickly took hold of her slender hand. She allowed it  
without a word of refusal. In fact, he could actually feel her grip tighten around his as he  
drew closer, leaning from the rock to kneel on the sandy ground directly before the fair  
lady.  
  
"Shayna, I cannot live without you, must we both act as if we can allow this  
emotion to go untouched?" Jareth questioned gently, kissing her palm to accentuate his  
plea.  
  
She removed her hand from his grip and then ran her fingers through his lovely  
mane of pale blonde hair. Jareth's heart leapt again, and he wrapped his arms tightly  
about her slender waist, burying his face against her wet garments. Her scent was one so  
pure and fresh, like flowing water in springtime, and blossoming flowers, and it covered  
his senses as he drew so close.  
  
"You may call me Shay, Jareth," she whispered.  
  
He upturned his face and allowed a broad smile to pass across his face. He rose  
then, drawing her up next to him, so that they stood but a breath apart, eyes locked upon  
each other. Then he slowly slipped his warm hands around her waist, bringing them  
together so that their heartbeats melded into a unison.   
  
"Then I shall," Jareth replied, brushing back a stray strand of hair that had matted  
against her lovely face.  
  
The world seemed to stand still for a moment, for just the briefest of time as they  
gazed into each others eyes, and saw the purity of their emotions so raw, and unhindered.   
Not a breath of air rushed through the clearing, nor did a sound form animals who dwelled  
in the forest erupt suddenly. No bird took flight, no twig snapped. It was almost as if the  
setting had been displaced from reality.  
  
Overhead the sun's rays filtered through the trees, laying golden streamers down  
upon the smooth surface of the lake. Bits of dirt and insects flitted through the showers of  
sunshine.   
  
It felt like magic, and fantasy, and everything that could be perfect in the world had  
suddenly seized the moment to take control. And Jareth leant forward, his lips meeting  
with Shay's. Their kiss broke through passionate intensities, and burst forth, hunger  
raging within both.  
  
In his soul, Jareth could feel a power growing, a strange, almost electric sensation.   
Shay backed away a touch, just so that she could look into his eyes that raged with more  
emotion than anything in the world. His eyes were without depth, without end, and  
cloaked in an open trust that she instantly loved.  
  
"I feel magic in your touch," she whispered, as she laid her head upon his shoulder.  
  
Jareth held her close, adoring the feel of her body against his. Still, the sensation  
of magic, of power that roared through his system, so strong that it nearly burst his  
nerves.... invaded his thoughts. He had never sensed such a feeling as now raged in his  
system, nor did he believe that it was merely driven by his love for Shay..... There was  
something else, something deeper within himself that he could not guess at, at least not  
yet.  
  
All too soon, however, he would know the answer to the mystery.  
  
  
  



	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four  
* * * * * * * *  
You can't turn back the clock,  
You can't turn back the tide  
Ain't that a shame?  
I'd like to go back one more time...  
On a roller coaster ride-when life was a game.  
* * * * * * * *  
  
A serenity of twilight swept over the town with the subtle shades of purple and  
pink, as the sun finally set behind the mountain peaks far in the distance. The grand finale  
of orange sunburst roared into the far West of the sky, lighting everything on fire, and then  
the calming pastel hues overtook the sky, awaiting the approach of the moon and her  
stars.  
  
Shayna silently looked out at this spectacular sunset, her chin resting in her slender  
hands. Her eyes lit with the many shades of stunning glory and reflected back against her  
dark pupils. She did not say a thing, but merely was satisfied to watch nature, to enjoy it  
all as the sounds of the barn continued on behind her.  
  
A gentle, yet persistent tug on the hem of her dress finally drew her attention back  
from the sky and the light show which had finally started to be consumed by navy night  
heavens. The first crystallized star had broken through, and Shayna wished upon it, as she  
had done when she was small, just before turning around.  
  
She smiled at Jareth, and then stepped down from the mounting block that had  
served as her perch to the window. He laid in the fresh hay, calmly observing her every  
move until he could no longer stand to be away from her. Now she bent down beside him,  
and allowed him to hold her close in the recently cut hay.  
  
"Your parents will miss you?" Shayna inquired, running her finger along the silver  
buttons that traced the path up the front of his fine, silk shirt. It was opened half-way up,  
revealing his alabaster skin.  
  
Jareth shook his head in answer to her question. He had never taken an active role  
in his family. Such were the pains of being noble bred. A nanny had raised him, the  
stable-hand had taught Jareth to ride, and all else was learned on his own.   
  
"And you, Shay, what will you tell your family?" Jareth asked gently, stroking her  
cheek with the back of his hand.  
  
She snuggled up against him, adoring the warmth of his body, the feel of his arms  
around her, the sound of his voice as it snaked its way all up and down her body. She  
shivered slightly, and gooseflesh broke out on her bare arms.   
  
Her family, she had scarcely allowed herself to think of a tale to tell them,  
explaining her absence during supper hour. It was only at that time, when they could all  
speak to one another, and hence the reason her Father found it so necessary to gather  
together at a strict time every night. She would face some sort of punishment.  
  
"They shan't mind," she replied, and then lifted her face to gaze into Jareth's  
tantalizing eyes.  
  
He removed his arm from around her and cupped her lovely face in his hands. She  
propped herself up and then bent in, pressing her lips to his, in a searing kiss.   
Instantaneously his arms were around her again, drawing her closer, so that they nearly  
became one being, one mind, one soul.  
  
Jareth's hands raced down her spine, sliding easily over the soft material of her  
dress. He paused at her waist, gently loosing the clasps that bound the garments to her.   
Shay said nothing, but merely smiled, breaking their kiss for but a moment. Her bodice  
slipped seductively down, revealing more of her body than she had ever offered to a man  
before.  
  
"What is ye in there?" Demanded the rough and uncouth voice of the master  
stable-hand.  
  
A sudden stream of light broke the darkness that had since then encompassed the  
barn. Shay leapt from her position, struggling with her drooping dress as the heavy  
footsteps approached ever nearer. Jareth straightened his own clothing, but could not  
prevent the sick feeling that overcame his gut, as the light fell on him.  
  
He stepped in front of Shay, wishing only to protect her from this, which had been  
his own fault. He had taken too much of a chance with the stable. Now, there would be  
Hell to pay for mistakes.  
  
The old man paused suddenly as he realized who it was that had taken up  
occupancy in the stable. He scratched his grayed beard and then nodded slightly, before  
catching a glimpse at the figure which shivered behind his young master.   
  
"Who do ye have there?" The stable-hand inquired, edging forward with the  
lantern held at head level.  
  
Jareth swallowed deeply and continued to keep his body in front of Shay. The old  
man was perplexed, and at last set the lantern on the ground, the flame within flickering  
slightly at the sudden jerking movement.   
  
"I beg of you Gursby, I meant no harm in my actions. I... I cannot wed... there is,"  
Jareth glanced back at Shay as he found no words to explain the wrong he had committed  
that had felt so very right.  
  
Gursby merely shook his head, and hobbled forward. The stable hand had suffered  
many injuries, one which left him nearly crippled. Without a word of question he took  
hold of Shay's hand and led her into the light. The young woman went, knowing that she  
sealed her fate as she stepped into the open.  
  
"Such a gem. Shayna, I know your parents well in town," Gursby stated, though  
his rough voice held nothing of anger nor any disciplinary intents.   
  
Then, he turned, dropping Shay's hand and lifted his lantern once more. Gursby  
limped to the door of the stable, and only there did he pause and turn about to  
acknowledge the two young lovers. A smile found its way on his deeply wrinkled face,  
and lit his eyes with pure mirth.  
  
"Take care of each other well," he whispered and then, glancing briefly over his  
shoulder to be sure no one else had heard, Gursby left the stable and slid the massive door  
closed.  
  
Shayna was silent, her mouth nearly agape in awe that they had not been revealed.   
Jareth's hand found hers, and gripped it tightly. She turned and found him staring lovingly  
at her once more. His features were highlighted by the moonshine, streaming in from the  
same window through which Shay had observed the setting sun.   
  
"That is precisely what I intend to do," he whispered, and moved in to press his  
lips against her forehead.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
"Mother, Father, we must speak at once!" Jareth declared as he rushed down the  
stairs and into the sitting room.  
  
His parents were presently occupying the two high-backed chairs. They turned in  
unison, shocked with their son's abrupt nature. His Mother swiveled back around quickly  
and muttered some form of apologies to guests, whom Jareth could not quite see as he  
leapt down the rest of the stairs.  
  
His clothing was utterly distasteful, which his Father noted with a scrutinizing eye  
of disdain. Jareth's shirt was neither tucked into pants, nor buttoned. It wafted open,  
drifting behind him as he quickly made his way into the sitting room, to become the center  
of attention.  
  
"Jareth, we have company," his Mother whispered harshly, trying to catch his arm  
before he made an embarrassment of himself and his family.  
  
Yet he easily shied away from her, and continued playing with a single silver  
button on his cuffs. They too were undone, and flowed over his hands, making Jareth  
appear as some small child, in garments too large for himself.   
  
"No, we shall talk...," Jareth broke off as his eyes fell upon the firey-haired  
gentlewoman sitting pleasantly across from his mother, "...Adriana."  
  
His mother began uttering countless apologies to the young girl, who merely  
shook her head in a brief moment of giddiness. She tittered lightly, pressing a white  
handkerchief to her mouth in the process. Her flowing mane of auburn hair was piled  
upon her head and then cascaded down in ringlets and curls.   
  
"She came to see you, Jareth, since you have not taken the time to visit her home  
as of yet," his father explained, the iciness present in his voice not going unnoticed by his  
son.  
  
Adriana rose from her seat with all the grace that had been born and bred into her.   
She lifted her full skirts and then crossed over to Jareth. She tenderly took hold of the  
button he had been continually messing with and secured it in a fleeting moment. She then  
turned her face (which was still a trace too full) up towards him and batted her doe-like  
eyes a single time.  
  
"Perhaps Adriana would enjoy being shown about in the full daylight?" Jareth's  
mother offered, although it most certainly was not any semblance of a question.  
  
The young noble turned to observe his fiancee with a struggled smile. He casually  
plucked at his silken shirt, drawing it together so as to cover his chest entirely. Adriana  
watched this, her pouting lips upturned into a pleasant grin. She batted her eyes once  
more, thick lashes nearly brushing upon her cheeks.  
  
Jareth had no choice and so, with a sigh, he relented by securing the buttons of his  
shirt, and straightening his disheveled attire. He then offered Adriana his arm and nodded  
briefly to his parents. The "tour" would only prove to disband his original enthusiasm and  
determination to tell everyone that he would not marry Adriana, but rather had found  
someone else. Now Jareth doubted that he would ever receive the chance. He could feel  
his grasp on his future slipping very quickly away.  
  
"What was it you wished to tell them, Jareth?" Adriana questioned once they had  
walked through the doorway.  
  
He merely shook his head in response and then escorted her down the stairs, out to  
the dirt road. Several townspeople nodded in welcome towards the couple, their eyes  
adoring the look of two that were so obviously noble in birth. They were quite the  
complimentary couple, or so it was said.  
  
"Trivial matters, really," Jareth explained, after such a long break from the time  
Adriana had asked her question.  
  
She nodded, her spiral curls bobbing around her cheeky face. Adriana tightened  
her hold on his arm and lifted a lacy parasol over her head as they walked down the center  
of the pathway. Trees lined their walk, as did rose bushes, scenting the air with a faint,  
but lovely, perfume.  
  
Jareth's mind instantly went to Shayna, and the aroma that consistently surrounded  
her. She was like a fresh spring day, so youthful and jovial, so fresh and lovely. His heart  
leapt at the mere thought of her face and he nearly was tempted to leave Adriana standing  
in the midst of town to just catch the slightest glimpse of his one truest love.  
  
"Did you hear me?" Adriana's voice broke through his fantasy that had woven  
itself about his mind.  
  
Jareth turned to face her and nodded slightly, half dazed still with the thoughts of  
Shay dancing in his mind. Adriana waited, almost patiently, and then laughed at his antics.   
She brushed a strand of his hair away from his face, drawing his attention once more.  
  
"You seem to be a thousand miles away," she whispered, and then stopped their  
strolling, urging Jareth to do the same.  
  
She took his hands into hers and swung them for a moment, slight amounts of  
laughter fighting through her full mouth. Adriana waited again, and Jareth knew precisely  
what she wanted. However, following the passion he had shared with Shay, Jareth could  
not imagine kissing another.   
  
"I just am thinking about you, Adriana," Jareth replied, hoping that the compliment  
would satiate her needs for romance.  
  
She grinned a bit more and then turned her face down to look at her feet, acting  
like the coy woman, which she most certainly was not. She then peered back up at him,  
through those thick black lashes, trying to lure him closer, to bring Jareth into her grasps.  
  
He did step forward, and pressed his lips against hers, only for the slightest of  
seconds. He then stepped away, acting the part of the gentlemen, and took her hand in the  
crook of his arm. Adriana sighed, her eyes cast in a far-off dreamer's gaze, perhaps  
thinking of their future as man and wife; a future that Jareth would not allow to ever  
occur.  
  
A single harsh gasp resounded from the other side of the road. The couple turned  
in unison to see a fleeting shape rushing down an alley, far from where she had once  
stood. Even without seeing the figure's face, Jareth knew very well who it was.   
  
"Shay?" Jareth asked, his heart sunken as he realized that she had seen the kiss he  
had shared with Adriana.  
  
He had sworn to her only the night prior that he would tell his parents this morning  
about the hitch in their plans. He had already made himself a liar. Jareth started after her,  
but only went a single step before realizing that Adriana was standing in the middle of the  
path, her head cocked to the side in question as to why he would rush after some stranger.  
  
"Do you know him?" Adriana inquired, walking over to Jareth's side and trying to  
take hold of his arm once more.  
  
Jareth shook himself free and then glanced back towards his home. It was near at  
hand, which mean that Adriana could easily find her way back and he would not appear  
entirely rude. Still, there was no way he could allow Shay to be hurt, especially when it  
was him who had begun the entire relationship.  
  
"Yes, I know him. Adriana, my love, please return to my house while I care for  
that poor soul. I'll explain further at a later time. Until we see again," Jareth's voice was  
lowered to its most rich, intoxicating tones.   
  
He kissed her once and embraced her tightly, and then raced down the alley.   
Adriana simply remained still, watching her fiancé leave. She sighed deeply and then took  
a few backwards steps, toward his home.   
  
She touched her lips with her fingertips and then smiled. She had begun to believe  
that Jareth found her uninteresting, and perhaps had his sights set on another. However,  
the way he had spoken, and the passion in his kiss, that proved his love for her. She  
shivered just thinking about it.  
  
"I will speak to you very soon, my dear Jareth!" She called, but he was already  
long out of sight.  
  
Adriana turned around, dragging the toe of her white boot in the dirt. She looked  
up into the brilliant blue sky overhead, and then began humming an old song her nanny  
had once taught her. Everything suddenly seemed right in the world.  
  



	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five  
* * * * * * * *  
No use sitting and thinkin' on what you did  
When you can lay back and enjoy it through your kids  
Sometimes it seems like lately-  
I just don't know  
Better to sit back and go-with the flow!  
* * * * * * * *  
  
Jareth leapt over the short-railed fence. He nearly slipped, catching his balance at  
the final second. The young noble continued through the simple yard, and vaulted atop  
the wall, so as to see where she had gone. However, there was no sign of Shay nor  
evidence that she had been there.  
  
"Shayna! Please, Shay!" Jareth called, cupping his hands over his mouth for  
increased volume.  
  
There was no answer, but a slight movement from behind him gathered his  
attention. Jareth leapt down, not looking to where he was falling before taking the  
ill-fated jump. He crashed into crates, which had (the day prior) transported swine to the  
marketplace. Mud, and soil, and other blemishing by-products stained his silken shirt, and  
form-fitting riding breeches.   
  
His horribly embarrassing position was only further aggravated by laughter. Jareth  
moaned, leaning back against the broken planks of wood and tenderly swinging his legs  
off of the pile of garbage. All the while the musical chuckling continued, interrupted only  
by gasps for air and the occasional exclamations.  
  
"It wasn't that funny," Jareth demanded, struggling against the large pile.  
  
Freddie walked out from the shadows and wiped at his eyes, drawing in deep  
breaths of air as he observed Jareth tumble to the ground from the crates. Once more  
Frederick erupted in laughter, leaning against the wall of the nearest house to prevent  
falling to the ground. Even his knees went weak and he slid to a sitting position as Jareth  
stumbled over.  
  
"Darling, really, such a stunt... as that... cannot simply go unnoticed," Freddie  
managed between hitches of breath.  
  
"I was trying to find Shayna," Jareth explained, glancing about as the thought of  
her rushing away re-entered his mind.  
  
Freddie crossed his arms over his chest and gazed up at his friend. His cobalt eyes  
were cloaked in seriousness for the time being. Even Frederick understood the problem  
Jareth now faced, what with the forthcoming marriage and his sudden lovestruck state  
with a peasant girl.   
  
With a groan Freddie rose to his feet, dusting the leather riding pants he wore. For  
once his mane of raven hair was tied back and contrasted greatly with the silken white  
ribbon that had been used. It was strange, with the hair away from his face Freddie  
appeared almost feral in appearance. His wildly handsome looks were all the more  
accentuated.  
  
"Well we shan't have her missing," Freddie demanded and leapt down the alley  
calling for Shayna in his wonderfully accented voice, "Ah."  
  
Freddie stopped his antics and carefully slipped out of Jareth's direct view. The  
shadows between houses hid the girl quite well, and out of ear-shot, she could remain  
away from Jareth for days. Still, Freddie could not see his friend so hurt, so shattered as  
when Jareth was not able to see Shayna.  
  
"Shay, darling, speak to him at least," Freddie whispered, and took her hand in his  
own.  
  
The young woman swallowed back the tears that had poured so freely from her  
eyes upon seeing Jareth with his fiancee. She swiped at the wet streaks on her cheeks and  
then nodded in agreement with Freddie. Gathering her dress up slightly, she allowed him  
to lead her out and towards where Jareth was still so frantically searching.  
  
He stood with his back to the two of them, scanning the area with those intense  
eyes. Freddie placed a tender hand on her shoulder and then smiled. However, he found  
no need to remain while they spoke. Instead he turned and walked away, leaving enough  
distance so as to make their conversation private.  
  
"Jareth," Shay stated somberly. Her voice was weak from the tears, but did not  
hitch.  
  
He turned around, but it was there that he stopped. Shay bit her lip, trying to  
force the ill-found emotions to the pit of her stomach, but her heart had nearly broken at  
the sight of another woman with her lover. Jareth easily sensed her conflicting feelings  
through her body language.  
  
He kicked at a stone on the ground and then slowly walked nearer to her. She  
wrapped her arms around herself, turning around, until his warm hands fell upon her  
shuddering shoulders. Shay allowed a shaky breath to pass from her lips as she thought  
about everything, about what she had gotten into, and about the pain she was yet to suffer  
at the hands of one who loved her so very much.  
  
"It meant nothing, Shay... I only wished to be rid of her quickly," Jareth whispered  
against her ear, his breath sending tingles along her sensitive spine.  
  
She shook her head and forced herself away from him. Shay spun around, her  
free-flowing golden locks caught the rays of sun and cast sprays of reflections upon the  
ground around her. She met his gaze with her own, searching for something, anything,  
beyond the countless promises that Jareth offered to her, those which were never granted.  
  
"I know, the gods help me, I know. But Jareth, how can we ever be together with  
your charade continuing like this?" Shayna demanded.  
  
Jareth was silent for a short time, trying to speak after the shocking question. She  
had, since then, just believed that he would get himself out of the marriage. Now,  
however, Shay seemed to be the one doubting, for she had seen too many promises  
already broken in their short, but heated, relationship.  
  
"I will find a way," Jareth swore and then reached out for her hand, "Shayna, my  
lady, you will be my wife, and we will live forever together. Until then, I beg you to  
understand that I suffer with you.... it will only take time."   
  
Shayna nodded her head, seeming almost depleted in her original conviction. Still,  
there was something hidden in her eyes that seemed to be filled with doubt about ever  
marrying Jareth, or even having a chance at normalcy. She said nothing about her instincts  
and instead allowed the young noble to draw her near, and kiss her so tenderly that she  
believed she would float on air.   
  
Instantly all her doubts were buried, for the time being.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
The smell was the first sensation that touched the two young men as they entered  
into the dark store. It was musty, and strangely magical in odor, the faint underlying scent  
of dust, and some sweet, almost rotten addition to the stale air. Chimes sounded from  
nowhere, and everywhere as the heavy door slid shut into its frame.   
  
On either side of the musty shop were shelves lined with scores of books. All were  
coated in gray filth, that seemed nearly an inch thick upon some rather frightening, leather  
bound, novels of tremendous size. Directly ahead of the door was a elegantly carved  
cabinet, which overtook the entire remaining wall. It was locked at each dark, wooden  
door, with a golden latch that appeared impermeable without the use of a key.  
  
Over the cabinet hung a sign, the only thing in the shop which appeared clean. It  
read: "Mysticals and Fantasies." A door was in the far corner, near the only window in  
the shop. However, the window was covered in grime, which blocked the soothing rays  
of sun. In fact, the only illumination was offered by the candles which sat upon the cabinet  
and at the small desks in front of the shelves of books.  
  
Freddie paused in the center of the store, placed his hands upon his hips as he  
scrutinized the upkeep of the place. His dark eyes covered the rather unimposing expanse  
of collections, and then he glanced back towards Jareth.  
  
"Trivial really, and such a positively riskay selection of novels... magic, fantasies,  
herbs. I can scarcely hold myself at bay here, I feel I might simply explode without  
satisfaction," Freddie's voice lowered seductively at the final word.  
  
Jareth found little amusement with his friend's antics. He instead skirted past  
Freddie and tapped gently on the other door, hoping that someone was near at hand...  
someone who could help. Freddie, reluctantly, followed and, after noting the spiderwebs  
and dust that coated the wall, chose to stand rather then soil his perfect garments by  
leaning.  
  
"Tell me, darling, why are we here again?" Freddie asked, preening his shining  
raven hair with one hand.  
  
Something, out of nowhere, grabbed Freddie's arm. The young man nearly  
squealed in shock as he jumped away from the presence. He twisted about and glared at  
the squat elderly thing that had dared invade his space. His dark ebony eyes narrowed,  
and he nearly allowed his usual joking tongue to bite out some viscous comment.  
  
"Freddie, it seems you found someone to help me," Jareth quickly contained the  
situation as he rushed over to the owner of the small, dirty store.  
  
The man turned to acknowledge Jareth, and a strangely broad grin covered his  
doughy face. His long white hair was fashioned back into a ponytail, where it was secured  
by thick, brown vine. His ears protruded into points, and along with his diminutive size,  
gave all evidence needed to confirm the fact that he was an elf.  
  
"I was about to tell your friend that you come, you all come for something needed  
that no one else can offer," he stated mysteriously, skirting past Jareth and Freddie  
without a question as to what they had, personally, come for on that warm summer  
afternoon.  
  
The ancient elf produced a large ring of golden keys, nearly the same, but were  
each used to open one of the many sections of the large cabinet. He hobbled over to the  
middle, and glanced at the doors for a brief moment. Then, his wrinkled face lighting up  
slightly at finding what had been searching for, he unlocked one golden latch and swung it  
open on the creaking hinges.  
  
"I shall have to remind myself next time not to become twisted among your hastily  
made decisions," Freddie stated with a sigh as he watched the goings on from a position  
near the entrance to the store.  
  
Jareth did not respond, but walked up beside the old elf just as a vile of  
shimmering purple luminess was brought forth from the dark confines of the cabinet. It  
danced around, as if alive, and formed strange waving motions of scintillation across its  
generally illuminated mass.  
  
The old elf placed the bottle upon a desk and then quickly re-locked the strange  
cabinets. He turned to Jareth, his eyes narrowed behind the spectacles he had worn  
resting on the bridge of his nose. On the other side of the room Freddie moved in slightly,  
so as to see the odd goings on.  
  
"I can sense more in you than meets the eye, young man," the shop-keeper stated  
somberly as he forced the golden cap from the flask which bore the strange liquid within.  
  
Jareth raised his eyes towards the elf, and cocked his head in question. What more  
was there to see, other than his damn noble birth and current plight with love. However,  
obviously the old man knew more and was not about to inform Jareth how the secret  
insight into his being had been attained.  
  
The shop-keeper offered the flask to Jareth and then turned to hobble through the  
back door. Jareth held the warm glass firmly, still transfixed upon the glowing substance  
inside. He had no idea as to what its use would be, but rather found himself overcome by  
the amazing qualities it bore.  
  
"We take the prize as champions and leave the dirty filth, correct?" Freddie asked  
as he carefully wound his way through the dirt and grime with a disgusted look upon his  
lovely face.  
  
Jareth shook his head in answer to Freddie's annoyed inquiry. There was quite the  
mystery surrounding the shop, one that Jareth was not about to leave without further  
investigating. Besides, he had yet to pay for the concoction that had been given to him.   
He wasn't even certain how the liquid would help.  
  
"Ah, and he be the one I hear about," declared a wretched, aged voice from  
directly behind Freddie.  
  
The young man jumped once more, and ran his chest against one of the  
free-standing book shelves. He leapt around, gasping against the shock he had sustained  
once more, and glared at the short woman standing in the same spot, her gaze fixed upon  
Jareth and the flask of glowing liquid.  
  
"You trollop! I would have your ears for such a.... such a....," Freddie stopped  
himself and instead went through the task of removing all dirt and grime from his  
previously immaculate clothing.  
  
The woman was as old as the man before her. Wrinkles ran deeply through her  
doughy flesh upon her face. Her silver hair was fastened back with a handkerchief, and  
hung nearly down to her waist. She paid little attention to Freddie's hysterics and instead  
crossed over to Jareth.  
  
She wrenched the concoction from his hand and quickly snapped the top back on.  
She then set it aside carefully and gazed into the young noble's eyes. She looked from one  
to the other, carefully examining the distinct difference in colors.   
  
"I've heard tales of you, my lord. Tales of misery and pains that no thoughtless  
action could justify," she whispered in a strange, all-knowing tone.  
  
Jareth glanced towards Freddie, but realized very shortly that his friend was paying  
no attention to the conversation. Frederick had had more than enough filth and magical  
incantations for the day... enough for his life, more than likely. He then looked back at  
the elven woman before him.  
  
"I'm afraid that what you hear could not be about me, miss, for my name is not  
well known except in our small commune," Jareth explained slowly, edging to the side so  
as to make a quick escape from the obviously insane owners of the novelty shop.  
  
She reached out and grasped Jareth's hand. Suddenly the brief sensation he had  
once experienced when first kissing Shay (the feeling of electricity in his soul) was  
magnified tenfold. He nearly screamed as the energy which surged within him roared  
throughout his entire body. All the while, as Jareth struggled against her vice-like grip,  
the old woman smiled, her eyes dancing with brilliance.  
  
"I have heard not from travelers, but from my crystals..... you have it within you,  
young man," she whispered and then snapped her hand away from Jareth with the same  
suddenness as she had originally grasped him.  
  
Jareth recoiled a little too quickly and slammed against the cabinet. He reached  
out to steady the large, bulky object, and succeeded in toppling over the flask, which  
shattered upon the ground. It erupted into a magnificent purple cloud of smoke, and  
sprayed showers of strange shattered gems all over the ground, before completely  
dissipating.  
  
Freddie strode over beside his friend upon seeing what had happened. He placed  
his hand on Jareth's shoulder and then gazed down at the remnants of the glass container.   
The old elf lady seemed not to mind, for she had not yet taken her eyes off of Jareth's.  
  
"Yes, very well. On that note we take our leave. We both greatly appreciate the  
filth, and the oddity of our... erm, visit. Ta-ta, darling," Freddie called, escorting Jareth in  
front of him as they burst through the door and back into the shimmering sun rays  
overhead.  
  
The door slammed shut behind them, rattling the glass in the single grimy window  
of the store. Freddie turned for a moment to look at the wretched place and then swept  
his hands over his satin shirt once more, just to be sure that he had not suddenly become  
infected while staying in the sty.  
  
Jareth did not speak, but rather tried desperately to concentrate on what had  
occurred there. His entire being had felt as if it had become alive. Without that power, the  
energy that had been finally allowed to run free and wild through his system, part of his  
body now seemed dead. He was no longer whole, and somehow there was a hollowness  
to his soul without the electrical sensation.  
  
"It was amazing," Jareth whispered, finally turning to look at Freddie with wide,  
overwhelmed eyes.  
  
Freddie strolled nearer, scoffing at such a description of their experience within the  
horrid little store. He shivered once more at the thought and then proceeded to push  
Jareth, just to force his friend away from the decrepit store. It had been quite the waste of  
time.  
  
"What, pray tell, was amazing, dear?" Freddie relented to ask the question, if it  
would mean their moving on to more interesting forms of spending the day.  
  
Jareth turned to face his friend, and stared deeply into Freddie's cobalt black eyes.   
Jareth's own eyes flashed with something that his friend had never noticed before. The  
deep blue churned, as if it had become unruly water, and lightening played across the  
chestnut other. Such power was evident behind those eyes, such overwhelming and  
stunning intensity that Freddie soon had to look away, or else be lost forever in his friend's  
wildly powerful gaze.  
  
"What I found, Freddie... the answers I found," Jareth stated mysteriously and then  
started down the forest path, back towards town.  



	6. Chapter Six

Chapter Six  
* * * * * * * *  
Cos these are the days of our lives  
They've flown with the swiftness of time  
These days are all gone now but some things remain  
When I look and I find-no change!  
* * * * * * * *  
  
Jareth slipped down to the ground, looking at the entrance to their town, to his  
home, and towards Shay. He had no hope for them, and all the while the marriage  
approached. The magical shop that he had been directed towards, had proven fruitless.   
He might have believed that answers were offered, but then.... there were also so many  
more questions.  
  
Freddie supported himself with a single hand against the strong trunk of a nearby  
oak tree. He held an apple in one hand, looking at its shining red body carefully, and then  
tossed it carelessly into the air, catching it in the same hand without moving.   
  
"All is not lost, dear.... there are always other options," Freddie stated, preparing  
to bite into the glorious fruit.  
  
He took just the smallest mouthful and then grinned seductively, his playfulness  
ever evident in his features. Jareth merely smiled and then sighed deeply, leaning all the  
way upon his back, to gaze up at the network of leaves and branches overhead that filtered  
out the warm sun rays.  
  
"What is left for me to do? I am nineteen years of age Freddie, and my marriage is  
but five short months away," Jareth moaned.  
  
Freddie looked at the apple again and then tossed it over his shoulder. He  
squatted down near his friend, grimacing at the lack of movement he was allowed in his  
leather trousers.... not to mention the lack of balance in his heeled boots. Such were the  
pains one paid for fashion.  
  
His intentions were meant only in concern with his friend, though, and he paid little  
attention to the pain he sustained from remaining in such a position. Freddie laid one hand  
on Jareth's shoulder and then raised his eyebrows slightly for effect.   
  
"The worry is not helping, take a day off, take two. You will not find the answer  
now Jareth, not when you are looking so very hard. What do you expect, a magical spell  
to cast upon this mess of circumstances to make things right in the world?" Freddie  
inquired, tittering a bit at the thought of such fantastic options.  
  
Jareth began to laugh as well, but his mirth was promptly cut off as his eyes  
snapped open wide. His mouth dropped in the stunning shock of his personal revelation.   
Ever so slowly the blonde noble turned to face his waiting friend, a broad smile forming on  
his thin lips.  
  
Shaking he raised up to a sitting position, and gripped Freddie's upper arms with a  
bit too much force. His eyes simply danced with anxiety, anticipation. Freddie himself  
wrenched free from Jareth's vice-like grip and then rubbed his arms, all the while watching  
his friend's oddity.  
  
"Tell me about her!" Jareth demanded, licking his lips as he waited with baited  
breath.  
  
Freddie rolled his eyes and continued to massage the injury that had been inflicted  
upon his slender arms. As if he had a clue which "her" Jareth was now referring. There  
had not been a lack of women in Freddie's life. Slowly a smirk formed over his handsome  
features as he thought about his escapades in romance.  
  
"Darling, about which of my many love affairs do you wish to know?" Freddie  
asked, holding a hand out at arm length to check his finely manicured nails.  
  
Jareth shook his head adamantly at Freddie's question. He wished to know about  
none of them. Once more he licked his lips, seeming almost insane in the way he was  
acting.  
  
"Tell me about the Goblin Queen," Jareth finally proclaimed.  
  
Freddie dropped his hand immediately and then fixed Jareth with a calculating  
gaze. The noble did not once flinch, nor back down in what he wished to hear. There  
really was no choice; Jareth had become accustomed to receiving that which he so desired.  
  
"What of her?" Freddie asked, stalling for time as he rose, slightly trembling, to his  
feet.   
  
He watched Jareth follow suit, all the while fearing what was to come next. The  
Goblin Queen was not some trivial matter. Certainly going to her, which was precisely  
what Freddie supposed was in Jareth's mind, would prove disastrous in the long run. She  
was not to ever be trusted.  
  
"She can save me, she has power and can teach me! God, Freddie, don't you see  
the perfection in this plan? It cannot go wrong!" Jareth stated, his laughter bubbling up in  
the middle of his speaking.  
  
"No... no she cannot! She is nothing but a harlot, a woman of trickery!" Freddie  
replied and then began off towards town.  
  
He strode quickly, brushing aside bushes and tree limbs as he quickly continued  
on. Jareth's frantic footsteps crashed through the foliage, as he ran to hinder his friend's  
progression. Freddie stopped, as Jareth blocked his path, those powerful eyes now  
desperate, pleading.  
  
Jareth said nothing, but instead stood there, staring deeply at his dear friend.   
Freddie sighed and then moaned as he admitted defeat. There was no way he could ever  
deny Jareth anything.  
  
"Oh damn you, you horrid thing! Damnit... fine Jareth I'll tell you about the  
Goblin Queen," Freddie relented and then leaned his head back to look at the filtering  
sunshine, which had begun to travel closer to the west.  
  
Jareth promptly sat back down under the ancient trees, and leaned against one  
thick trunk. He turned his intense gaze towards Freddie and waited in silent anticipation  
for what was to come.  
  
"Our darling Goblin Queen ... or the infamous "Queen of the tower" has a nasty  
temper, and magic at her fingertips. She does not age, and is more beautiful than any  
other living thing. She's lived a hundred years, and shall live three hundred more. Jareth,  
do you understand what your getting involved with by going to her?" Freddie asked, his  
campy accent dropping just slightly and his effected use of language fading to nothing as  
all was cloaked in seriousness.  
  
"I have no other choice," Jareth stated somberly and then lifted himself up.  
  
Freddie watched his friend begin towards their town, half stunned at what he had  
heard. Then, without another moment of hesitation, rushed towards Jareth. Freddie  
caught his friend by the arm and forced the young noble to look at him. A deep  
somberness overwhelmed Freddie's obsidian eyes.  
  
"There is always another way," Freddie stated.  
  
Jareth pulled himself free from the grip, but stood gazing into his dearest  
companion's eyes. They remained that way, locked in a strange staring contest, one which  
neither would ever win. Jareth would not turn down, not when he had been offered hope  
in the pit of despair which had recently consumed him.  
  
"Not only will she help me, teach me magic so that I can marry Shay, but I also  
must find out what it is that I experience inside myself," Jareth explained and then sighed  
slightly, turning to look at the walled-in town, "I will find her castle today, and return  
shortly later to bid Shay farewell."  
  
Freddie was silent in response and just watched as Jareth continued on towards  
town. Just as Jareth disappeared from sight, Freddie leant back against the nearest tree  
and placed a single hand over his eyes, breaths shaking as they heaved through his chest.   
He swallowed, working at the lump which had just formed in his throat, and then removed  
his hand from before his eyes.   
  
The young man bit his lip, all teasing having gone out of his soul, and then shook  
his handsome head. What was there to say, what was there to do? Freddie slowly began  
walking back to town, his stature not quite as regal as it had always been before... and his  
head hung in quiet dejection.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
He had saddled his young steed with all the haste of most youthful men, however  
his purpose was by far more important than some joy ride. Jareth had left, had not even  
noticed the silouhette of his friend standing in the shade of the entrance, as he raced out  
and into the forest. No, he had been focused on one thing, and one thing alone, finding  
the Goblin Queen.  
  
The course back to the mysterious woods, from whence Freddie and himself had  
turned away, was quite easy. It took little time to reach it, and then but a few moments of  
encouragement to his spooky horse to move forward and into the rarely traveled section  
of the old forest.  
  
It was quite a lovely environment with ancient trees reaching high into the pure  
crystalline sky overhead. The atmosphere was laden with a serene silence, with occasional  
outbursts from animals as they scrounged through the overgrown underbrush. It was wild  
and untamed, a true adventure if he had ever experienced one.  
  
He had carefully found a path through brambles which raced across the ground at  
all angles, and low hanging branches shrouded in garlands of ivy and vines that reached  
around his neck more than once. Jareth meandered through, all the while sensing a  
growing magnetism to one central point.  
  
Without any form of warning the tree line promptly ceased to exist. Suddenly he  
was in the slightest of clearings, and found the ancient masonry of some exquisite castle  
directly before his widened eyes. Jareth halted his steed and slowly looked upwards, at  
the amazing sight.  
  
So, it had come that he had seen the queen, sitting on the ledge of the tallest  
window near the peak of the tower that seemed to scrape the sky. Her hair was silver, as  
if a luxurious liquid floating about in the air. Jareth backed his horse into the shadows and  
took in her beautiful appearance, captivated and beyond words for once in his life. He  
could not speak to her, in fear that the rumors had been true and she would make him fade  
into nothing.  
  
Besides, he had those that would await his return, and his farewell. Jareth allowed  
one more look at the lovely, and strangely powerful woman before clicking to his mount  
to turn and head home. There was no time to waste. He glanced over his shoulder, as the  
thick leaves obscured his view.  
  
It seemed that, at that last moment when he could just scarcely see the Queen,  
their eyes had met. It seemed as if she was looking at him, had noticed him even in the  
darkness of the comforting shadows. Jareth shook the thought from his mind, believing it  
to be nothing more than fear at what he would soon be doing, and how he would  
approach such a magical entity as the Goblin Queen.  
  
"This is my answer," Jareth had told himself, silently hoping that what he said time  
and again was true.  
  
High in the tower Cyria turned and looked down at the youth who had gazed up at  
her for such a short time. Her emerald cat eyes narrowed in suspicion and tried in vain to  
catch a glimpse of the mysterious man. However, he was gone, and left not a trace of his  
presence in the shadowed realm of the forest in which he had stopped. His leaving did not  
matter much, for the crystals would quickly show her who had braved the many terrible  
tales to see the mysterious, infamous queen in her lonely castle.  
  
She twisted the crystal ball about in her lithe fingers, watching intently as a faint  
image formed inside, amidst the swirling fog of intense magic. The sight within stole her  
very breath from her lungs and nearly caused her to plummet from the window upon  
which she had perched herself.   
  
"He is beautiful," she muttered, her lovely voice fluttering as she calmed her racing  
heart.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
Jareth blinked open his reddened eyes and looked up at the ceiling. Even his sleep  
was plagued by these memories, times that had long ago passed and had been buried  
away. He had cried in his slumber, something that he had not done for so very long.   
After all, he was a man, twenty-two... and a king.  
  
If he had but listened to Freddie, then none of this would have ever happened. He  
would not have caught Cyria's interest, would not have caused Shay and Freddie's death,  
would not have ascended to the Damn throne which now was nothing but a constant  
burden. Everything would have been different.  
  
Jareth allowed a ragged breath to escape from between his lips. Even now, sitting  
in his chambers as the morning just began to dawn outside, he could hear his dear friend's  
voice. The last time he had spoken to Freddie had been when returning from Cyria's  
castle to bid everyone a short farewell.  
  
"It turned out to be the last farewell," Jareth muttered and rose to his feet, unable  
to attempt to sleep any longer.  
  
Freddie had seemed himself, when Jareth had spoken to him. The young man had  
been joking as always, with the constant inward and outward smirk evident on his  
handsome face. Always the jokester, and with seduction powers to rival Jareth's own.   
The Goblin King laughed a bit at the memories, the times they had shared together before  
Jareth's heart had been stolen away....  
  
Despite the fact that Jareth had had little time to spend with Freddie when Shay  
had become involved in his life, the King's friend had never once been mad with the sweet  
girl. He had merely treated her as he had treated Jareth, with a laugh and constant, but  
friendly, teasing.  
  
"Darling, life is not as it should have been," Jareth muttered, even lifting his voice  
just slightly enough to try to imitate his dear friend.  
  
Freddie had had a glorious tenor's voice, one that rang when he sang. Very often  
Jareth and his friend would duet, making the ladies swoon at the sound of their sublime  
songs. Those had been great times, times that Jareth wished he could return to, if only for  
a short while. However, there was no way he could ever go back... ever.  
  
"If I could I would change the world for you, turn it upside down," Jareth moaned  
and then threw open the door which led into the dimly lit passage way.  
  
But he could not. Jareth stumbled out into the hall and turned, walking blindly to  
the throne room where he would wait until full morning, when the Goblin would be about  
once more. So was the amazing life of the King.  
  
He finally was beginning to understand why Cyria had sat in the tower all day and  
night, watching for someone to break the monotony of her existence. All Jareth wished  
for now, was a single glimpse at lovely faces from the past... Shay and Freddie.  
  



	7. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven  
* * * * * * * *  
Those were the days of our lives, yeah  
The bad things in life were so few  
Those days are all gone now but one thing's still true  
When I look and I find, I still love you,  
I still love you.  
* * * * * * * *  
  
He raced the entire way home, and only when reaching town did Jareth slow his  
speed. The horse skidded to a halt, bringing clouds of dust up behind him. Jareth  
dismounted with ease and allowed one of the many stablehands to take his winded steed to  
be cooled down. There were other, far more important tasks at hand.  
  
He began to race down the main path, his mind in a whirl about what to do, and  
the odd decision he had made. However, was there really another option? Jareth stopped  
abruptly, noting his love as she walked down the road towards the market, most likely.   
He smiled slightly and then jogged up beside her.   
  
He had meant to inform Freddie that the Queen had neither bewitched nor taken  
him away for all time. Still, Shayna had to be told about what he planned to do. She  
would think him mad, but his future had been firmly set in his mind. Jareth tapped her  
shoulder and then smiled in response to the pleased expression upon her perfect visage.  
  
"Shayna, milady. One such as yourself should not dare to cross the streets without  
an escort," Jareth stated, his smile broadening.  
  
Shayna blushed slightly. Her full lips slipped easily into a comfortable smile as she  
shifted the basket which she carried upon one arm. Her entire being radiated with  
happiness, when she was just able to speak to Jareth. She could no longer imagine a time  
without him.  
  
"My lord, I shall fear no one if you would accompany me to the market," she  
replied.  
  
"I fear that I myself can not be trusted, should I be left alone with one as truly  
perfect as yourself, Shayna," Jareth's playfulness broke and he grasped both her hands  
tightly in his own.  
  
Shayna pried herself away, and then straightened her dress. She noticed very well  
the lingering glances from passing townspeople. They all knew very well of Jareth's  
betrothal, and the fact that his fiancee was not this woman to whom he now spoke, and  
stood so very near to as well.  
  
She turned her face away from him and began to walk slowly towards the  
marketplace. Jareth followed beside her, but tolerated their meandering pace for only a  
short time. There was much to speak about, and a shortage of time in which to partake in  
the conversation.  
  
Jareth grasped her arm and led her away from the streets, and eyes that watched  
every last syllable that was shared between them. The gossip the two caused spread like  
wildfire, all throughout the town and to people who should not know of their little secret.  
Already Jareth had seen the first instance in Rupert, and many other smaller incidents  
followed only shortly later. Those all, however, were now ignored.   
  
"I cannot let you out of my life. Shay, you do not understand, I have found a way  
past all of this, set marriages, future bride, heir to my father's grand estate.... everything,"  
he whispered under his breath as several older woman eyed the couple curiously.  
  
Shayna followed him to the stables, were they always stole away to talk, or simply  
spend time together. It was quiet, and so tranquil, just to listen to the sounds of the  
horses as they rested in their freshly bedded stalls. She sat gracefully upon a bale of  
sweet-smelling hay and then turned her lovely eyes to his.  
  
"Please Jareth, inform me of this new and foolproof plan that you have devised. I  
have heard thousands, and still not one has worked as you have told me it would," Shayna  
stated, quite upset with everything.  
  
Her love paced, something that he rarely was seen doing. Jareth was the most  
calm man she had ever met, and certainly not one to express his anxiety so outwardly. He  
stopped in midstride and then bent down before her to his knees. He grasped Shay's  
slender hands between his own and offered her his most amazing smile. She could feel  
herself melt under his charms.  
  
"We belong together, Shay, do not tell me that it is not to be. I have known since  
I first laid eyes upon you that we are to be one, unified forever in marriage. I will not let a  
signed contract, decided by my parents, tear this bond apart and throw me into a life that  
was not meant to be. I know what I must do, and you, my dear, promise me that when I  
return, you shall marry me, without questions asked," Jareth stated, with a slight smile still  
spread across his features.  
  
Shay looked at their interlocked hands for a short time and then turned her  
tearstained eyes to him. He had tried so very hard to unite them, and to no avail. It was  
pointless to allow her spirits to rise, but they did nonetheless. Jareth sounded too sure,  
more so than ever before. Shay had to believe that this time he would succeed and they  
would be married, as she had always dreamed would happen.   
  
"I will marry you, Jareth. I fear that this shall end as so many of your plans do, in  
despair. Yet, I will wait, and.... if you never return, then I fear that I shall wither up and  
die. You must come back to me, in two years time, or else I will know that you are dead.   
Do you promise me this?" Shay questioned, tightening her grip on Jareth's gentle hands.  
  
He nodded, and then kissed her lips with a passionate hunger. Shay unlocked her  
hands from his and wrapped them about his head, threading her fine fingers through his  
golden locks. He then rose to his feet, and with a final smile, rushed out to find the horse  
that he had left with one of the stablehands.  
  
Jareth gasped for air, his emotions running wildly throughout his body as he  
rounded the corner. He was very near tears, and had to allow several deep and calming  
breaths before he was certain that he was, once more, in control of himself. Then, forcing  
himself to take each step towards his future with an unknown and mysterious Queen,  
Jareth walked into the street and the bright light of the sun.  
  
"My dear fellow, were you to leave without saying farewell to me?" Freddie's  
voice drifted from behind Jareth, forcing the young noble to spin about instantly and rush  
to his friend.  
  
Without hesitation Jareth flung his arms about Freddie, taking his friend by  
complete surprise. Freddie, however, regained composure quickly and gently patted his  
companion's back. The moment hung with fears, as Jareth slowly stepped back and  
looked deeply into Frederick's ebony eyes.  
  
"I must go shortly," Jareth said, as he glanced towards the doorway to his house.   
  
No one was around there, and as fate would have it, there had been no other  
acquaintance to hinder Jareth in his departure. Freddie crossed his arms over his chest and  
remained silent, for once there were not words that would fit this situation, one that he  
could not have ever imagined.  
  
"Yes, I suppose you must," he replied simply and then cocked a typical grin after  
his short sentence.  
  
Jareth began to turn, but could not allow himself to leave his closest, most dear  
friend on such difficult circumstances. They had been together since childhood, had  
entranced many women together, had gone through life together and now, by the hand of  
cruel and thoughtless fate, they were to be torn apart without more than a few blunt words  
shared??? It was not the way it was to be.  
  
"I will return in two years time. I will remember always the times we had, Freddie,  
and there will be a day when we are reunited," Jareth extended his hand in a solemn oath  
to his friend on his truthfulness.  
  
Freddie casually walked forward and then glanced down at Jareth's hand. He  
swept back his raven hair and, shaking his head only slightly at Jareth's valor and gallant  
chivalry, shook his friend's hand.   
  
"Very well, darling, I will be forced to hold you to your word," Freddie stated and  
then allowed his laughter to break free, "So that old Queen didn't take you away quite  
yet? Well, how silly of her!"  
  
Once more Freddie tittered with laughter as Jareth withdrew his hand and clapped  
his friend on the shoulder. The mirth broke away as they looked at each other, friends  
observing the other for, perhaps, the final time in many months. Then Jareth smiled again  
and began further down the street.  
  
However, he was stopped once more by a final thought. He turned, and grinned  
back at Freddie, who had yet to leave. Then, thinking a moment on his next statement,  
sighed and glanced towards the barn where Shay was still, perhaps, thinking on all that  
had happened.  
  
"You will take care of her, won't you?" Jareth asked gently.  
  
Freddie casually strolled a bit nearer to his friend. The large wooden heels of his  
black boots scuffed a bit in the dirt of the road. He then placed a hand upon his hip, which  
was clothed in some tight, silken, and ebony material which shone along the curves and  
contours of his legs.   
  
"Why of course Jareth," Freddie stated in the positively most 'naughty' voice he  
could manage without bursting into laughter, "She won't spend a moment alone, dwelling  
upon your dangerous situation. I will be *personally* sure of that!"  
  
Jareth shook his head slightly, chuckling at his friend's response and then waved  
briefly as he turned for the final time, to catch the stablehand who was now only starting  
to take the horse away.   
  
Freddie remained in the road, watching his friend quickly re-claim the reigns from  
the young man and leap atop the horse. The steed whipped about, rearing slightly in the  
middle of the street, casting a glorious image before Freddie as he observed the goings-on,  
and then Jareth was gone, through the arced entryway and into the forest... towards the  
Goblin Queen's castle.  
  
"Farewell dear Jareth, may you return safely to us all," Freddie whispered and then  
slowly turned about and began his way back towards the barn, where Shay would be,  
silently weeping over her love who had gone away.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
And then he had gone to the castle... the rest was history. Cyria had taken too  
fond a liking to him, and when he had told her of his plans to leave, and marry Shay back  
home, she had promptly cast them to the stones. Shay had been forced into suicide, as  
Jareth was helpless to watch from a shackled position in the dungeon. With her death, so  
had died a portion of his heart.  
  
When he had sought out revenge, and cast Cyria into prison within the garden, his  
entire town had fallen victim. Freddie had died as well, for Jareth had not heard from him  
since. Surely his old friend, had he survived, would have searched Jareth out, if only to  
speak to him for a short time.  
  
"And all their suffering is upon my head, my wrongs that I committed..." he broke  
off as a sudden crash resounded through the castle.  
  
The Goblins were awake and stirring, wreaking havoc already.  
  
Jareth leaned forward and placed his head into his hands. Such despair flowed  
through his body at those horrid thoughts. Yet, as he had debated originally before  
allowing the reminiscing to ensue, he could not end his existence.   
  
Ever so slowly the grand King rose from his throne and strode silently over to the  
window, which overlooked the lovely garden. His magic watched o'er the flora which  
blossomed and grew within, keeping everything perfect, for his Shay whom laid buried  
beneath everything.  
  
She had had a heart of gold, a soul as pure and white as the clouds in the heavens,  
and had been as beautiful as morning rays of dawn. His being ached with renewed pain,  
inflicted from her loss. But, there was no turning back time; all he could do was watch  
and wish that things had been different.  
  
"I still love you, Shay," Jareth whispered and then forced himself away from the  
garden.  
  
Deeper in himself was another aching wound, this one more raw and unhealed than  
that which had been inflicted by Shay's death. He had buried Shayna, had laid her to rest,  
and hence had received some closure with all the agony. However, there was another  
whom he had tried to forget, whom he had never searched for...  
  
Freddie's body had probably been reclaimed by the forest, as the village was  
allowed to lay in ruins, unkempt by his magic. He could have easily found his dear friend,  
could have buried Freddie along-side Shay beneath that awe-striking garden, as a  
memorial to their memories. But he had not done anything of the sort.  
  
"I am sorry dear friend," Jareth whispered, shaking his head and collapsing into the  
throne once more.  
  
At least he still held the memory of his friend in his mind, something that he would  
never forget. That way a portion of Freddie would live on forever, since Jareth himself  
was eternal as the Goblin King. Even if Frederick's joking voice would never once be  
heard within the Underground again, Jareth would remember, and try to recall just how  
happy they had all been three long years ago.  
  
He produced a single crystal, and looked at it for some time, just spinning it  
slightly upon his fingertips. Then, the clear magical body began to fill with gray mist that  
swirled about as if alive. Jareth's eyes remained fixed upon the scene within the perfect  
orb.  
  
The mist cleared as quickly as it had formed, and left scenery of some village  
behind. A single dirt path ran down the center of the town, and on one side sat the  
massive estate that the King remembered from his childhood. A young man, sure of  
himself and care-free leaped from atop the wall which encased his home, and stopped  
before the sauntering figure of another, seductively-clothed man.  
  
The handsome face of Freddie appeared within the crystal and Jareth continued to  
watch, as the two friends started down towards the marketplace. Another figure, pure and  
youthful, and strikingly beautiful joined them, embracing the king's younger form for a  
moment. Then the three strolled down the center of the path, loving life, and living for  
that day alone, not thinking of the future.  
  
And so he would love not another, have no other friend until hundreds of years  
into the future; when he found a young girl, many centuries his minor, and a mortal upon  
all other things. Yet, she was strikingly beautiful with dark hair that swept to the middle  
of her back, and amazing chestnut eyes.   
  
Her soul, above all other things, was so perfect... a dreamer's soul. She loved  
fantasy and magic... although no such things existed in her world. Inside she was like  
Shay, so very pure and white, and he watched her for many years, just observing her as  
she grew into a lovely adolescent.  
  
Then she too found his story, and she too felt the subtle draw to read it time and  
again, until it felt as if she was the heroine in the tale; that the Labyrinth, as well as the  
entire Underground... and Jareth himself, were all real.   
  
It was only then that she uttered the words, and he found his life changed  
drastically as he took her brother and sent her through Hell to get him back. Jareth's heart  
had been drained of all emotion while he ruled the kingdom and found it nearly impossible  
to confess his true feelings.  
  
Even when they faced each other, the final minutes of her allotted thirteen hours  
slowly ticking away, he could not say what he felt. He instead begged her to love him,  
and he would do anything that she so wished. However, laying himself at her mercy was  
the mistake he made, and made himself weak in that moment.  
  
So she said the words and he granted her return to her home with her brother.   
After all, she had bested him, had won, and was the first to ever do so. Still, even with her  
gone he watched her, observed her age and grow into a stunningly beautiful woman...   
Waiting for the time when he could take her back....  
  
And one day he received his chance, but that is another story. 


End file.
